Roger Burdette's new book 0

[DWLange]

I ordered Roger Burdette's book Girl on the Silver Dollar, and it arrived today. This is the true story of Anna Williams who, reportedly, was the model for Liberty on George T. Morgan's 1878 silver dollar.

Roger clarifies this and several other matters in a thoroughly researched and beautifully illustrated book. It includes a comprehensive account of the 1918 Pittman Act that led to the destruction of 300+ million silver dollars and their eventual replacement during 1921-28.

This hard-covered book is a high quality product. I contacted Roger about ordering it directly from him (as a fellow book author I know all about eBay and PayPal fees eating into one's rewards). He informed me that the only source is Wizard Coin Supply. I highly recommend acquiring this title, and be sure to ask for a signed copy while they last.

[LINCOLNMAN]

Ordered, thanks for the heads-up. 

[CaptHenway]

We are fortunate to have Roger Burdette on this forum.

[physics-fan3.14]

Every serious collector needs to read everything in this list: https://www.wizardcoinsupply.com/index.php?p=catalog&mode=search&search_in=all&x=0&y=0&search_str=burdette

[Conder101]

I have, except for the most recent one.

[Coinbuf]

Awesome I'll have to pick one up

[RWB]

Thanks all for your nice comments! The cover looks like this. The portrait was made by Thomas Eakins and Susan McDowell in October/November 1876.

Edited September 27, 2019 by RWB

[kbbpll]

Good to see you over here, Roger. Still enjoying your WWII patterns book.

[physics-fan3.14]

I got Roger's new book. I'm about halfway through it, and so far the story has been good. In typical Burdette fashion, it is meticulously researched and documented. I'll have a full review on the content when I finish. 

However, the thing that sticks out to me are the Typos. Now, Roger's books often have more than their fair share of typos, but this book is just laden with them. Nearly every page has at least one typo, and I counted 5 on a single page. I can overlook a few here and there, but this time they are pervasive to the point of being distracting. 

Roger, if you need someone to proofread your text before you publish, I'm sure there are numerous people willing to do it for free. Please, have someone proofread your next books! 

[RWB]

I'm very concerned about the typos. The text was reviewed by multiple people, but it is still my responsibility to publish a clean text. In that respect it is clear that I failed to meet expectations. (I did not use my regular copy editor. Her rates have gotten so high that I could not justify the $5 per book price increase necessary. Evidently, I was incorrect.)

 

:(

[RWB]

For those interested, here's an independent review of  "Girl on the Silver Dollar." (The review says "Charles Barber" but William was the one involved.

The Coin Analyst: Girl on the Silver Dollar and the Merging of Greco-Roman and American Visions of Liberty (https://coinweek.com/us-coins/the-coin-analyst-girl-on-the-silver-dollar-and-the-merging-of-greco-roman-and-american-visions-of-liberty/)

Edited October 9, 2019 by RWB

[LINCOLNMAN]

Enjoyed it and do recommend it. Typos are numerous for sure but great content. As a kid I was once a TA/reader in college, and I would write on many papers "did you proofread this?"

[GoldFinger1969]

It's not on that list, but if you have an interest in Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles, Roger's book available from HA is spectacular:

https://coins.ha.com/itm/books/other-collectibles/the-coinage-of-augustus-saint-gaudens-as-illustrated-by-the-phillip-h-morse-collection-by-james-l-halperin-m/i/960001281.s?ic4=GalleryView-ShortDescription-071515 

Tons of detail, probably going to take even me weeks to finish, maybe a month or more. 

Edited April 9, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[GoldFinger1969]

On 10/3/2019 at 8:41 PM, RWB said:

I'm very concerned about the typos. The text was reviewed by multiple people, but it is still my responsibility to publish a clean text. In that respect it is clear that I failed to meet expectations. (I did not use my regular copy editor. Her rates have gotten so high that I could not justify the $5 per book price increase necessary. Evidently, I was incorrect.)

 

I'm just curious, how does this work ?  Doesn't the publisher hire a proof reader to make sure typos and stuff like that have been done ?  Are there people you can hire JUST to proof read ?  Do they charge a fixed rate, by the hour, or by book sold ? 

[RWB]

There are several excellent professional companies that offer independent editing, design, proofreading, etc. The good ones have fixed rates based on word count or pages depending on the book  or article. Technical editors charge more. There are also a bunch that are sloppy and useless.

When the Girl on the Silver Dollar was prepared for printing I was also assembling other projects and books. I assumed that I could catch all the typos and sequencing problems - I was wrong. I could have sent the draft file to an editor I've worked with in the past, but that would have added at least $5 to the cost of each printed book, and I wanted to keep the retail price as low as possible so the book would be accessible to more collectors.

Since the Girl on the Silver Dollar was published, I've pulled back one book and some other things. I don't want this kind of problem to occur again. It's not only personally embarrassing, but it cheapens all the research that went into the book.

Just my opinion on the question.

[GoldFinger1969]

45 minutes ago, RWB said:

There are several excellent professional companies that offer independent editing, design, proofreading, etc. The good ones have fixed rates based on word count or pages depending on the book  or article. Technical editors charge more. There are also a bunch that are sloppy and useless.

I would think spell-check would catch most of those errors today unless it's a word that is spelled correctly but doesn't belong (i.e., good instead of gold).

I didn't realize that hiring a spell-checker could add so much to the cost of a book (unless it was only going to sell a very small number of books).

Edited April 12, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[RWB]

A copy editor is not just a "spell checker." They do detailed grammar, word use, punctuation/capitalization, style, source and footnoting, plus overall consistency and logic. (Look up the Chicago Manual of Style to see some what goes into editing.) A full editor goes much higher that that in detail, structure and the very core of the text. I was amazed when I first saw some of Ernest Hemmingway's edited typescript.

A commercial publisher, such as Whitman LLC, does most of this internally based on their own editorial and style guidance. Most have to rely on independent contractors.

[GoldFinger1969]

Roger, can't say enough about the Saint-Gaudens book.  I'm reading it 2-3 times a day, knocking off about 20-30 pages per day.  Best and most enjoyable coin book I have ever read.

[GoldFinger1969]

Roger.....folks over at CT are saying they can't find Renaissance 1916-1921 at Wizard.  I presume that means the other 2 books are still available.

Just curious....what was the runs for the trilogy, Girl Silver Dollar, and Saint Gaudens DE ? 

I guess once they're sold out, that's it, huh ?

[RWB]

1 hour ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

Roger.....folks over at CT are saying they can't find Renaissance 1916-1921 at Wizard.  I presume that means the other 2 books are still available.

Just curious....what was the runs for the trilogy, Girl Silver Dollar, and Saint Gaudens DE ? 

I guess once they're sold out, that's it, huh ?

Wizard Coin Supply is the distributor of RAC 1916-1921. If they don't have copies then the book has sold out. Collectors will have to go to the secondary and book auction market for copies. (I have one set for each of my kids, plus the copyright certificates.)

[GoldFinger1969]

26 minutes ago, RWB said:

Wizard Coin Supply is the distributor of RAC 1916-1921. If they don't have copies then the book has sold out. Collectors will have to go to the secondary and book auction market for copies. (I have one set for each of my kids, plus the copyright certificates.)

How big were the original runs, a few thousand for each, or tens of thousands ?

I may buy a 2nd Saint DE book rather than risk it going out of print or you never doing a 2nd (expanded/updated) edition.  That way I can read one book that takes the damage and have the other preserved on my book shelf.

Hope you get some nice coin (!) from my purchases.

Edited April 30, 2020 by GoldFinger1969

[RWB]

I receive nothing when a book is sold.

[Kirt]

16 hours ago, RWB said:

I receive nothing when a book is sold.

That...is not right. Sorry. I recognize that numismatics may be a field with more limited appeal than, say Keeping Up with the Kardashians, but it's certainly a bigger contribution to our continuing development as a species. You'll probably come back with the fact that you do it for the love of the hobby, and while that's noble and to be commended, you should be compensated for your efforts. If it is a situation where the publisher has paid up front, ok - I get that they won't sell enough to clear the threshold for royalties. If not I wouldn't blame you for not commenting, but it's not right.

[RWB]

I publish the books in addition to all the research, writing, checking and layout. Handing any of this off to others would be nice, but there is no pot of money quietly backing any of this. The distributor takes all the books printed and sells them. I markup the cost of printing a small amount. The reason is that numismatic books do not sell in large quantities or very fast. The first RAC 1916-21 book took about 14 years to sell out. As an individual I cannot hold and sell small quantities for so long a time. A distributor can do this by supporting long-term sales along with the many other books they carry - they also have many repeat customers who will buy more advanced books (most of mine are "advanced") to supplement their initial Guide Book or other purchase.

[GoldFinger1969]

What's the runs for these books, Roger...a few thousand or tens of thousands ?

[RWB]

17 hours ago, GoldFinger1969 said:

What's the runs for these books, Roger...a few thousand or tens of thousands ?

A typical press run ranges from 200-300 to 1,000 or a few more. However, many are now being printed based on pre-orders and might have less than 50 made, or are done through print-on-demand companies where the total printed is not fixed. A couple of books by Dave Bowers ("Garrett Collection") had 5,000 or more printed and sold. Large scale publishers such as Whitman Publishing LLC (Anderson Press) have extensive retail distribution systems and likely print large quantities. It's interesting to realize that some hobby books - J.H.Judd's original pattern book is an example - can still be bought by the case  in new condition. I understand that Krause Publications used to print large quantities then shred any not sold when the next edition came out.

As expected, the per-book cost is greater when the press run is smaller. In fact, most of the cost of printing is in preparation and setup.

Accurately estimating demand for a coin specialty book is difficult. A slight mistake can be very costly.

Edited May 1, 2020 by RWB

[GoldFinger1969]

27 minutes ago, RWB said:

A typical press run ranges from 200-300 to 1,000 or a few more. However, many are now being printed based on pre-orders and might have less than 50 made, or are done through print-on-demand companies where the total printed is not fixed. A couple of books by Dave Bowers ("Garrett Collection") had 5,000 or more printed and sold. Large scale publishers such as Whitman Publishing LLC (Anderson Press) have extensive retail distribution systems and likely print large quantities. It's interesting to realize that some hobby books - J.H.Judd's original pattern book is an example - can still be bought by the case  in new condition. I understand that Krause Publications used to print large quantities then shred any not sold when the next edition came out.

As expected, the per-book cost is greater when the press run is smaller. In fact, most of the cost of printing is in preparation and setup.  Accurately estimating demand for a coin specialty book is difficult. A slight mistake can be very costly. 

I think books that can serve as references like Akers and Bowers' Gold/Double Eagle books have to have runs of tens of thousands since they are still good years later, even if the prices are off.  The commentary is still valid years later with minor exceptions.

A book like this thread's focus is going to be more limited time-wise from an interest POV.

I think your Saint Gaudens book will be very popular going forward with any serious Saint collector because it is 100% on Saints (Akers book is also on Indian Heads; Bower's book covers Libertys).  Only headwind will be the price, but if someone has interest in Saints the cost is small relative to the coins.  JMHO.

[DWLange]

Print runs are a subject I wrestle with frequently. Like Roger, I publish my own books these days, and the market for both good books and bad continues to diminish as people have come to believe that anything worth knowing is available on the internet for free. Sadly, the by-product of that ignorance is frequently on display among hobbyists.

My last two titles have had print runs of 300 copies, which is the lowest number at which the unit cost isn't too high to find buyers. Unlike Roger, I stock my own books, placing just token quantities with Wizard. After several years of being in print, there are still over 50% of the last two volumes in my storage. These recent books deal with coin albums, rather than coins, so the market is obviously smaller, but ten years ago I was still selling several hundred books instead of several dozen. That's a fact that even commercial publishers are experiencing to some degree in the internet age.

[RWB]

RE: "I think books that can serve as references like Akers and Bowers' Gold/Double Eagle books have to have runs of tens of thousands since they are still good years later, even if the prices are off.  The commentary is still valid years later with minor exceptions."

My opinion, based on observation, is that the coin hobby market is small and that the book market is even smaller. While the per-copy cost of 10,000 books will be low, nearly all will go unsold. Thus, most of the printing expense will be wasted and the books will sit in a moldy warehouse until finally thrown out. David Akers did a lot of promotion of his gold books, and there were the standard for a long time. Newer research is gradually making them obsolete except for Mr. Akers' opinions.

The Girl on the Silver Dollar book should appeal to silver dollar collectors and general hobbyists (plus a few academics) for a long time - it is not encumbered by time-limited pricing. Mr. Lange's books on coin albums will also remain the standard for a very long time, although the number of interested collectors will be small within each generation.

[GoldFinger1969]

I appreciate the literary works of both of you guys.  I do myself find it tougher to find the time to read books today compared to 20-25 years ago -- even for topics I love -- but trust me, quality coin books will always be bought (if not read).

Speaking of which, you wouldn't believe how many books I have purchased in the last 10 years that haven't been read and are just accumulating dust on my bookshelf.  Reading Roger's Saints book from Day 1 was a complete change for me; even my other coin books didn't get hit until weeks or months after I bought them.